Der Blogger

"Enough is enough!" "This can't go on!" "This has to stop!" These were among the comments that came through the blizzard of commentary after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. We have heard these words before.

Wanderlust

As a travel destination, Germany has never been more popular. With tourist numbers forecast to rise for an eighth consecutive year, what is the country doing right to account for its thriving visitor numbers?

Akademia

For education experts, English language lessons have proven valuable in primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the Alternative for Germany’s state parliamentary group in NRW have a rather different view.

Essen & Trinken

Police in the city of Osnabrück had to clear crowds in front of a new döner kebab shop on Tuesday, after about 150 hungry people packed the street outside, eager to get their hands on a döner for only €0.01.

Germericana

Many Americans have German ancestors — and that's also the case for actress Meghan Markle, who will be marrying Prince Harry, himself a descendant of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German dynasty.

Rising German nationalist party elects leaders amid protests

Jörg Meuthen was re-elected as chairman at the first full party congress since the Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, won seats in the national parliament for the first time.

Alexander Gauland, one of the party’s parliamentary leaders and a power within AfD, was elected as co-chair.

The position Gauland (right) assumes had been vacant since the day after the September election. Former party co-leader Frauke Petry said AfD was flirting with far-right extremism and quit, saying she would not represent it in the Bundestag.

Both Meuthen and Gauland belong to the more conservative wing of the nationalist party.

Alternative for Germany received almost 13 percent of the vote in the Sept. 24 federal election, making it the third-strongest party in the Bundestag. The party promoted an anti-grant message and campaigned aggressively against Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The vote for Gauland followed a tumultuous run-off vote between Georg Pazderski, AfD’s Berlin-branch leader, and Doris von Sayn-Wittgenstein, a state parliament member from Schleswig-Holstein.

After the runoff didn’t produce a clear majority for either candidate, both withdrew and Gauland then ran alone for the co-chair post.

The convention got off to a rocky start Saturday morning when clashes between police and protesters briefly delayed its opening. Police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to block access to the convention center.

Ten protesters were temporarily detained; several police officers and one protester were injured.

Later in the day, about 6,500 protesters marched through Hannover chanting slogans against the party, the German news agency dpa reported.

Kultur

The German term "Heimat," often translated as "homeland," was long thought of as tacky, regressive, and even politically dubious. But since the election, German politicians across the spectrum are using it once again.

Das Kino

This month's Berlin film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, will shine a light on sexual misconduct in the industry, its director said on Tuesday.

Gesundheit

In the run-up to international World Cancer Day on Sunday, experts have said that about half of all cancer cases in Germany could be prevented by a healthier lifestyle. Across the country, around 500,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. But experts say things like exercise could cut this figure in half. “Movement can […]